Verifying the identity of a person is important in many circumstances. As an example, when a person applies to open an account at a bank, the bank will try to confirm the identity of the applicant. If the bank has the true identity, it can check the applicant's name and other identity information against available fraud databases to learn of any past fraudulent activity by the applicant.
Persons intending to use an account for illegal or fraudulent purposes (“fraudsters”) often provide an identity that is false or difficult to verify. For example, a fraudster may provide a “synthetic” identity, which may at first glance appear to be legitimate (e.g., a legitimate looking name, address and/or social security number). Since the identity is not real, there may be no reported fraudulent activity associated with that synthetic identity, and the fraudster may thereby escape detection. In other cases, a fraudster may provide a manipulated identity, which may have identity components (e.g., name, address or social security number) that match some or all of another person's actual identity and that, when checked, will reveal no fraudulent activity (assuming that other person has not engaged in any fraudulent activity).
Thus, there is a need for effective ways to determine whether a person, such as an applicant opening an account at a bank, is the person whom they claim to be.